Off the Record

It was just a suggestion, but he was taking it so seriously. Did he actually think that she couldn’t be honest with him? He was the only one she was honest with anymore.

Still, she hated upsetting him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have told you. I didn’t know you would be so mad.”

“Liz, I have to go,” he said, but he didn’t turn away.

“I know. Five minutes. Give me one more. We’re engrossed in conversation.” She didn’t even stop to wait for him to say anything. “I didn’t come to find you in public to argue. I just came to talk to you, because I wanted you to know that you were right.”

He stared down at her with interest. “About what, specifically?”

“You told me once that if I got to know you, I would see you for more than your voting record.”

“At the gala,” he said, a small semblance of a smile appearing on his face at the mention of it.

“You were right,” she whispered. Tears were forming in her eyes, and she was so incredibly pissed at them. Why was she getting emotional like this? It wasn’t as if they could even move forward in their relationship. They only had secrecy to hold on to. “I see your vision. I see you. I was proud of you onstage today.” Her voice was hoarse when she said the last line. “I’m sorry for the tears. They’re stupid,” she said, wiping gently under her eyes. “But…you’ve got me, Brady. I get it now. I get it.”

“Liz…” he whispered.

“No, just one more thing,” she said, trying to muster the courage. “You won my vote today.”

He sighed, as if he had realized how much of an ass he had been earlier. “Baby, do you have plans later?”

She looked up into his face, surprised. Brady was supposed to be leaving for the coast today with his family. She wasn’t going to see him all weekend.

“No plans.”

“Good,” he said softly. “Because I’m going to be spending all night making this up to you.”

Chapter 19

OUT ON THE TOWN

Liz stared at the ground uncomfortably before taking a breath and walking into the coffee shop. She had talked to Justin on the phone a couple times since he had gotten his DUI, but he’d had his disciplinary committee hearing this morning and he’d agreed to meet up with her after. She’d offered to go with him to the meeting, since she was the reason for the DUI in the first place, but no one else was allowed inside.

“Over here,” Justin called. He waved his hand from the corner, and Liz strode in his direction.

“Hey.” He stood when she approached, and she briefly wrapped her arms around him sympathetically before they both took a seat. “How did it go?”

Justin sighed and shrugged despondently. “I wish you’d been there. You could have sweet-talked them for me.” He looked up to meet her blue eyes. “They stripped my scholarship.”

“Oh my God!” she cried. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m thinking about transferring out. My parents can’t afford to pay out-of-state tuition.”

“You can’t just leave.” Liz shook her head. “There has to be something that can be done. Can you appeal the verdict? Maybe you can apply for student loans to help with tuition.”

“My parents are looking into it, but I don’t think there’s much that can be done. Student loans look at your records, so I’m not sure how much I could get…probably not enough to afford it.”

“Ugh,” she groaned. “I wish there was something I could do.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

She felt partially responsible for this. One bad mistake shouldn’t bring a lifetime of turmoil. She knew Justin would bounce back, because he was a genius, but it would be hard.

“It just sucks.”

“It does. But hey, maybe I should use this as my opportunity to try something new. I was always too smart for college anyway,” he said with a wink, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Maybe I’ll open my own business or take over the Internet. I always thought that would be fun.”

“Only you, Justin.”

“Thanks for meeting up with me, Liz.” He reached out and grabbed her hand across the table. “I made a bad choice, but it didn’t turn out as bad as it could have. At least I didn’t hurt anyone. I remember running through that light, and I think about how lucky I was that I didn’t hit anyone. It’s only a scholarship, but it wasn’t my life…or yours.”

“I’m really sorry, you know?”

“I know. Me too.”

They finished their coffee and parted ways. Liz was glad that she had met up with him, at least.

She was supposed to go out with Victoria later and she needed to get home and get ready. Liz walked into the house fifteen minutes later to Victoria yelling at her from down the hallway of their house. “You better fucking get drunk with me tonight!”

Liz shook her head and dropped her bag in the living room. She grabbed her latest article from Professor Mires and trudged down the hallway. “I already said I would get drunk with you, Vickie. If you ask me one more time, I’m going to call you that all night!”

As she waited for Victoria to relinquish the bathroom, Liz flipped through the paper she had gotten back that morning—the one based on Hayden’s suggestion. It had garnered her an A. The professor said that she could really see her improvement and depth of growth. That if she turned in her final paper with similar quality work, she would be comfortable giving her a B+ or even an A- for the class, despite her earlier work in the semester. Liz knew that meant she had her work cut out for her, but she was up to the challenge.

Her last week of classes was coming up; in just over a week, she would be heading out to D.C. to visit Hayden. She found it hard to believe it was that close already. Soon the fall semester would be upon them, then the primary, and then the general election.

Liz shook her head. She was getting ahead of herself. There was still too much that needed to get done before then. Brady’s big summer gala event, for instance. It was coming up this weekend, and she was pretty much freaking out about it. Would she be noticed? She already knew that she couldn’t go with Brady, but would he take someone else? It didn’t help her to get too antsy about it, because at the end of the night, he was coming back to her one way or another. And she had to be confident in that.

Their argument on the Fourth of July had changed their relationship. Liz didn’t know what exactly had been the tipping point. It could have been her realization that somewhere under Brady’s hard exterior she could hurt him. Or her comprehension of his purpose for running for office, which had softened him to her. Not that Brady was actually any different. He was still gruff, brash, and stubborn, but she wouldn’t have him any different. But one way or another, whatever they had been doing before had turned into something…more.

Brady had actually postponed his trip to Hilton Head with his family to spend the night of the Fourth at the lake house with her. She hadn’t seen the lake that night except through the window of the second-story bedroom, when the fireworks had gone off. She couldn’t help smiling now at the thought.

Victoria completed her hair and makeup and walked into her bedroom to change. Liz took that opportunity to do her own makeup before changing out of her shorts and tank top. While she was changing, Liz received a text message from Brady. Baby, you free tonight?

Liz couldn’t bail on Victoria another time. She had been home for a couple weeks now, and Liz felt like the worst friend in the world. She kept canceling on Victoria to hang out with Brady. She had so little time with him that when he wanted to see her she jumped at the opportunity. But she couldn’t do that tonight. If she did, she was pretty sure Victoria would skin her alive.

Going out with my roommate.

How late will you be out?

Liz smiled. If someone else had posed that question, Liz would have found it irritating, but it was Brady. He was different.

Probably very late. Victoria is kind of an animal.

You’ll be safe? Can I see you after?

Always safe. Don’t worry. Don’t you have to work in the morning?

You can’t expect me not to worry. I don’t make promises I can’t keep. I’ll take tomorrow morning off. Call me if you’re done before two a.m.

Liz felt giddy. Who was this person she had become?

Done. But I’ll be wasted, so you’ll have to come get me.

I’ll come get you. You’ll be safe with me.

Debatable.

Don’t make me come get you now.

Empty threat. I’m not alone.

Don’t test me.

Liz bit back her laughter. She liked teasing him like this. It felt comfortable. They had been together for nearly two months. She couldn’t believe it had been that long. They had held on to their secret and nothing had happened. She breathed easier each day that went by.

“Ready, bitch?” Victoria called. Liz opened the door to her room and saw Victoria standing in the hallway.

Liz rolled her eyes at Victoria’s appearance. “You look like a baby prostitute.”

“That quote is, ‘You smell like a baby prostitute.’”

“Boo, you whore!” Liz said with a giggle. She shook her head at her ridiculous best friend. “Seriously, you look like a hooker.”

Victoria shrugged. “And you look…like you.” Somehow she made that sound insulting.

Liz glanced down at her appearance. “I just don’t look like I’m going to be selling my body.”

“Exactly. Use what you got, girl. You’ll only have it for so long. I certainly want to enjoy it.”

Victoria was a curvy girl with a full hourglass figure that she loved to flaunt around in very little clothing. She had on a dark blue, skintight V-cut dress that showed off way more leg and breasts than Liz had ever shown in her entire life. She had on mile-high nude wedges and her signature red lipstick.

Liz felt dressed down next to her best friend. She had on a solid coral skirt with a tan ruffle halter-top and brown sandals. She had actually taken the time to blow her blond hair out into messy beach waves. She didn’t typically wear much makeup, but she had done herself up tonight. If she hadn’t put in some effort, she knew Victoria would have redone her face.

As much as she wanted to see Brady tonight, she knew it was going to be fun to hang out with Victoria. They had known each other a long time, and she always had a good time when they went out.

Victoria chose a bar on the west side of Franklin Street downtown that served beer in giant plastic cups. It was all right on the inside, but everyone went there for the huge patio with benches and live outdoor music. The place was as full all summer as if it were the only bar in town.

Liz didn’t recognize anyone, but Victoria waved at a few people. They made their way through to the bar, and Victoria ordered them both beers. Liz wasn’t a big fan of beer, but this was the kind of place for it. Victoria handed the fratty-looking bartender her credit card, and they walked back outside with their drinks.

It was a swelteringly hot mid-July evening, and the humidity in the air was thick enough that Liz felt more like she was drinking the air rather than breathing it. She was glad she hadn’t straightened her hair, because by the end of the night she would have had waves anyway. Some Jamaican-style band with steel drums was set up on the stage playing music. It reminded Liz of the tacky Hawaiian party she had gone to with Justin, and she sighed as they found a seat at one of the picnic tables.

After a few moments, Victoria spoke up again. “So, what’s been up with you?”

“What do you mean?” Liz asked, fidgeting.

“You’re different. You’re not around that much, and I know you’re not working all the time. You normally freak out about your work and obsess. There hasn’t been as much obsessing. So tell me, what’s up?” Victoria asked, tipping back the absurdly large cup.